Twisted Emotions 2
by UrbanWitch
Summary: This story is told from Dark Danny's POV. There has been much speculation about whether or not Danny engineered some of the actions in Episode 7, and so I tried to explore Danny's thoughts and actions through the lens of a character who really does have sociopathic tendencies. Its stands alone, but also acts as a companion piece to the original Twisted Emotions story,
1. Chapter 1

Danny finally felt like he was beginning to fit in with the soccer team. It was one of the more pleasant experiences of his day: kicking, blocking, strategizing… and being really good at it. He liked that he was the top one or two players on the team. Its why he was surprised that the coach said he wanted to try out a new strategy and switch his position with Cole's. It didn't matter too much though - Danny would still be starting. After a promise to Cole to work out together again the next morning, Danny started walking over to where Archie and Lacey were talking near the edge of the field. From their body language it seemed that perhaps the couple were not in perfect sync this morning.

"Hello Lacey" Danny stepped up to them. "Did you walk all the way over here just to watch me practice?" He grinned at Lacey who looked gorgeous as usual clad in a navy hoodie and jeans, with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. That girl could be wearing dirty moldy rags and her beauty would undoubtedly shine through.

Archie immediately turned and snarled "Keep walking freak."

"Sorry captain, I was just being polite to your girlfriend." said Danny with a grin. "I didn't mean to upset you". Well, of course that wasn't quite true. Danny knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that Archie would get upset and lose his temper in front of Lacey. He knew that Lacey and Archie's relationship would crack just a tiny bit more. Keeping his voice light and slightly humorous, staying calm and unfazed - these were definitive choices on his part to act as a counter to Archie's hotheadedness. In juvie, Danny had been diagnosed as having sociopathic tendencies, which explained why he often didn't feel anything for anyone else. And so he didn't really care if he broke this couple up as long as he got what he wanted and that was for Lacey to be back in his life as a friend and also something more.

"Such BS" flared Archie. "You live to upset me." That, thought Danny, was not completely inaccurate. He venomously added "Psycho".

Before Danny could respond, he heard Lacey say "Archie stop it!" He turned to her, the casual smirk leaving his face. "Just, its enough. Enough with the psycho and the freak. Its all exhausting and kind of awful." Both Danny and Archie were stunned.

Archie muttered "I'm going to wash off because I'm all so sweaty" as he turned and stalked off towards the gym. Lacey watched him go.

Danny appeared thoughtful. This was a major development. Lacey had stood up to Archie for him - in public. That was progress and exactly what he had been waiting for. She was starting to see the jealous, insecure jerk jock that was the core of Archie. Soon, she would be habitually comparing Danny's calm self possession and sensitivity with Archie's typical BMOC demeanor.

"Thank you for saying that" said Danny, gazing at her. Gone was the smirk and the slight edge of teasing he had used on Archie. In its place was complete sincerity.

"Yeah, I'll see you later" Lacey answered, and left. Danny had hoped for some more conversation, but it seemed that Lacey was still conflicted and in denial. He watched her go, determined that next time he would not let her get away without a confrontation.

The next day at school, he sat next to Jo and Rico on the steps leading to the North hall of the school building. He noticed that Rico was not really speaking to him. He didn't really care but he knew that allies were important, so he asked "Rico, have I done anything to upset you?".

Jo answered for him "Rico's just really nutty about the PSATs". Danny asked if Jo had heard from Lacey lately since they hadn't all really talked since the Connecticut trip. Jo said Lacey was spending more time with Archie. Danny felt a flash of pain deep within. He knew he didn't feel emotions in the same way as other people but he did have an attachment to a very limited number of individuals. Jo and Lacey were two of them; his mother was probably the 3rd. That was pretty much it. And the thought of Lacey spending more time with that bastard Archie when she should rightfully be at his side was enraging. He knew there was some hurt mingled with the anger and jealousy, but that was a less useful emotion so he put it aside.

At soccer practice that day, the coach told the team that Danny would be back to being a Forward because Cole was in the hospital with food poisoning. Archie called attention to the fact that Danny was with Cole that morning and the rest of the team gave him suspicious glances. Danny was surprised but shrugged it off. He didn't wish Cole harm; Cole was useful to him. Right as practice finished, he got a text from Lacey: "Please meet me outside the school library at lunchtime but don't tell anyone." His heart leaped just a little. A secret meeting? Bring it on!


	2. Chapter 2

He made his way through the throngs of people coming inside for lunch, through the library doors, down the steps and saw Lacey standing a few feet away. Her hair was down and she was wearing a brick orange sweater and mini skirt with the tall boots and thigh-high socks she favored. She looked so pretty it almost hurt his eyes. "Last time you texted me for a secret meeting, things got a little intense" he said with a grin. He was purposefully provoking her.

Lacey, her eyes huge, immediately tensed up. "Danny" she began. "We need to talk."

"Yeah, I agree" he replied noncommittally. He wanted to see if she was going to bring up their mutual attraction herself.

She shook her head "Not about that. Its about 5 years ago." She nervously adjusted her grip on her book bag.

Not that again. Danny was disappointed but made a half hearted attempt to deflect with his trademark humor. "The 2008 election of Barack Obama? It was historic, Lace, but what else is left to say?"

"You know what I mean" Lacey said looking him in the eye. "I want to discuss that day, what happened with Tara."

"Now? Right here?" Danny's tone reflected his frustration and disappointment that this is what Lacey wanted to talk about. Killing his aunt was not exactly an appropriate topic for school. His body language had shifted subtly. "Right here at school? Why now?" his tone was harsher.

"Why not now?" questioned Lacey.

"God Lacey, I can't take all these mixed signals. You stand up for me to Archie, and then you avoid me. You kiss me and then you say you can't do it again. You text me for some secret meeting and then you ask me weird questions about my aunt?" His eyes were dark, glittering.

"Its not a weird question." Lacey shot back.

"Lacey, that kiss" began Danny, ignoring her. "Its all I think about. All day. Every day." He struggled not to lose control as he spoke to her but he couldn't keep the tension and fervor out of his voice. "Don't you think about it too?'" His eyes didn't leave her's. He moved closer to her. He was incredibly into Lacey and he knew she reciprocated some of that. He knew from her returned glances and the way she looked at him and the way she kissed him after fall fest. If there was one thing he could say about himself is that he was extremely astute at reading people. And he knew without a doubt that Lacey had feelings for him too. Why wouldn't she admit it?

Lacey, eyes wide, appeared frozen to the spot. "Danny, I…" she looked away with a slight shake of her head.

"You don't feel the same way" Danny nodded his head as if he understood. But then he drew even closer to her. "You and I both know that is not true." His tone was slightly menacing but he didn't care - he was calling her out.

Lacey stood there for a moment, trying to read his eyes, then lowered her eyelids and brushed past him as she walked rapidly towards the library doors. Danny didn't even turn around; he knew she would be long gone, she would not look back. She got scared too easily. He wasn't sure what else he had left to try. Apparently being completely forthright and trying to force her to be transparent in return was not it.

He ended his day at pottery class with Tess, who complimented him on his vase. Danny didn't see a need to tell her that pottery was one of the electives he had to take in Juvie - they wanted the kids to gain some culture there. But he did tell her he coveted the relationship she has with Jo because he can't talk to his own mother so easily. Tess blushed; Danny knew how to flatter her. Danny mentioned that he liked a girl, and quickly assured Tess that it wasn't Jo because "she's my best friend". Her advice was to hang around her, so she knows he's not giving up, "but not in a stalking way".

Just then Danny noticed a text from his coach asking him to come to his office to talk about Cole. The coach told him that a half empty package of moth balls was found in the weight room trash after Danny and Cole's practice and that mothballs can mimic the symptoms of food poisoning. It looked like Cole was poisoned and because the coach was getting complaints from the other players, he needed Danny to resign from the team. Danny was in shock. Seriously, if he wanted to poison Cole, he would certainly not be stupid enough to be the only one seen with him just beforehand and then leave a bag of evidence in the open trash bin. He recognized that someone was trying to frame him; suspects rushed through his mind. He decided it must be Archie, and even if it wasn't, he decided to pin his anger on him. He was going to make Archie pay for this one way or another.

Danny was still fuming when he ran into Jo in the hallway leading to the North wing of the school. He really had no wish to talk about how he was feeling. Mostly because he hadn't had a chance to figure out what he was supposed to be feeling. What he mostly felt was anger at not being able to get what he wanted - and that was to play soccer. He also felt rage towards Archie. But he recognized that he needed to tone down the anger and project disappointment and sadness because those were the emotions that would get him sympathy and support.

Some dude named Tyler walked up to them and asked Jo to come to his birthday party. Jo didn't seem too keen on going… she didn't even seem to know him. But then Tyler added "Your friend Lacey Porter will be there". Danny's head snapped up and he pounced. 'We'll be there." Wasn't that Tess' advice - to just be around her? He'd be around alright - she would not be able to escape him.


	3. Chapter 3

When they arrived at the cemetery that evening, the party was already in full swing. Danny pulled a beer out of the cooler. He could feel eyes on him but there was only one pair he was interesting in looking back at. He took a swig of his beer and stared directly at Lacey. She was sitting next to Archie, clearly unnerved at the stare down. He silently dared her to look away and she finally did. He couldn't stand seeing her with that imbecile. Drinking made it easier to emulate pain and hurt. He practiced composing his face into a dejected countenance. He had a talent for brooding and he allowed his body to reflect that as he continued his unabashed staring at Lacey, not caring how uncomfortable he was making her. As he pulled a second beer from the cooler, Jo came over and dragged him away for a walk claiming that she and Lacey wanted to talk to him.

She led him to a crypt and Lacey showed up a few minutes later slightly out of breath. "Sorry I'm late" she said. "I had to sneak away."

God she was beautiful. "Won't Archie miss you?" asked Danny with venom in his voice. He wanted to get a reaction from her. Lacey just stared back, her usual deer-in-headlights look when he flustered her. Jo told him they wanted answers about his Aunt Tara. He had zero interest in telling them anything about that. Instead, he told them about getting kicked off the soccer team because he had been framed by Archie for Cole's poisoning. He glared at Lacey as he talked, raising his voice at her. Lacey was one of the few people who he sometimes lost control with. He was great at keeping his true emotions under wraps with almost everyone, but he knew that his attraction to Lacey sometimes overrode his self control and his voice reflected that.

"Archie would never…" Lacey started to protest.

"Would never do something like that?" Danny cut her off. "Are you sure about that Lacey?" he growled, holding eye contact. Lacey stopped talking but didn't break eye contact as she considered his question while he guzzled more of his beer. Jo broke first. She started talking about how she and lacey had found a connection between his dad and Regina and the apartment in Connecticut. "Now who's keeping secrets?" Danny asked and strode off around the crypt in the direction of Tara's gravesite.

Jo came after him and Danny tried to explain to her that he killed Tara because she and Vikram hated each other even as kids and she had the power to destroy the lives of his family. He also added "You are the most important person in the world to me. Just let me keep you safe." Jo looked stunned to hear that. Danny felt it was true as he said it. His relationship with his mother was not that of a true parent-child dynamic. And it seemed that Lacey would never reciprocate his feelings the way he wanted, so Jo was all he had right now. Even a borderline sociopath needed some friends. Jo left him standing at Tara's gravestone to get home before curfew. Danny wanted time to consider what to do next. He had been winging it until now, relying on his charm and charisma to get him through a social life. But being framed for Cole's poisoning was a whole different game. It meant he was not in control.

He heard Lacey's footsteps as she wound her way over to him. He had been hoping she would come back but hadn't been counting on it. "Danny. Hey, where's Jo?" she asked, coming to a stop near him.

"She had to get back - curfew" Danny responded. The two of them stood looking at Tara's gravestone for a minute. "I'll never be able to get over this, will I?" asked Danny in a soft voice. "This decision is going to follow me forever. I'm never going to have a normal life. I'm never going to do normal things." he looked up at Lacey, his eyes brimming with sadness. 'I'm never going to be happy."

"That's not true" Lacey said, her voice reflecting empathy.

"Why'd you come back here?" Danny asked.

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok" said Lacey, her voice breaking a little.

"That's not the only reason. That's can't be the only reason" pleaded Danny. "Why'd you come back here" he asked for a second time.

"I'm sorry you got kicked off the team" said Lacey, her eyes tearing up. "If it matters, I don't think you poisoned anyone."

Lacey looked stunning standing there in the moonlight. Her eyes were limpid pools of chocolate and her lips looked warm and inviting, and just so kissable.

"It matters" said Danny firmly. He took a couple of steps towards her and embraced her in a kiss. She kissed him back with just as much passion and before long they had sunk down onto the ground. Danny was hungry for her lips, her skin, her body - he kissed her hard and with all the skill he had learned from making out with girls at the annual juvenile detention center mixers. As a very good-looking and charming guy, he had had his pick of many interested girls to experiment with there. Danny realized they were making out on top of Tara's grave and he felt a slight sick pleasure from the depravity of it. Lacey must have realized it too, because suddenly she was pushing him off her body saying "I can't do this." Danny repeated her name a couple of times, frustrated that they were stopping. He said her name like she was a lifeline back to the living for him. "Lacey. Lacey."

Lacey glanced at Tara's grave marker, then back at Danny, her face filled with compassion "I'm sorry, I have to go" she said and walked away quickly.

Danny turned away and looked back at the gravestone. He knew that lying down on a gravesite to make out was undeniably creepy and was the reason Lacey had freaked out and left. But before that she had given in and given herself to him completely. His sob story had worked on her emotions. He had figured out that the key to Lacey's heart was his sadness - he would have to play up his despair. He looked in the direction Lacey left, and as he turned back, a half smile formed on his face. He knew it was only a matter of time before Lacey was completely his.


End file.
